Exxon CEO's compensation rises 8 percent to $27.2M

DALLAS 
Exxon Mobil Corp. gave its CEO $27.2 million in total compensation last year, an 8 percent increase as the oil giant posted its second-highest profit ever.

Most of Rex W. Tillerson's compensation came in the form of stock awards - the company valued them at $19.6 million on the day they were granted.

An Associated Press analysis of Tillerson's compensation considered salary, bonus, perks and the estimated value of stock and option grants. It did not count changes in the present value of Tillerson's pension benefits, which makes the AP total much smaller than the $40.3 million that Exxon Mobil reported on Friday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tillerson, 61, received a salary of nearly $2.6 million, a cash bonus of nearly $4.6 million, the stock awards, and other compensation valued at $447,425. The biggest items in the "other compensation" category were $179,690 for matching contributions to Tillerson's 401(k) plan and $112,706 for personal security.

Tillerson is also chairman of Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, which he has led since 2006.

Last year, the company earned $44.88 billion in net income, an increase of 9 percent over 2011 and its second-best year ever behind its $45.22 billion profit in 2008. In 2012, like 2008, the company was helped by high oil prices.

Exxon Mobil's stock failed to keep pace with those lofty returns. The shares rose 2.1 percent in 2012, slightly better than the 1.6 percent gain for rival Chevron Corp. but far below the gains registered by the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Exxon has oil operations around the globe and became the largest producer of natural gas in the United States with the 2010 purchase of XTO Energy.

Last month, the company predicted that its oil and gas production would fall 1 percent this year after a 6 percent decline in 2012, then begin to rise in later years as new projects start up. Some of them are controversial, including expansion of Exxon's Kearl oil sands operation in Alberta, Canada, and exploration in the Russian Arctic.

Closer to home, the company is dealing with an oil spill in Arkansas caused by the rupture of a crude oil pipeline.

Also Friday, the company announced that its annual meeting will be May 29 in Dallas. Shareholders will also vote on a series of resolutions including separating the jobs of chairman and CEO, disclosing more details about Exxon's spending on lobbying, and explicitly prohibiting discrimination against gays.

The board recommended that shareholders reject all the resolutions, some of which have come up for votes before. On the discrimination item, the board said Exxon already prohibits "all forms of discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation."